Tk 536cr climate fund stuck in Padma Bank: JS body concerned

Staff Reporter :
A parliamentary body yesterday expressed deep concern over the frozen Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund, which was deposited with the then Farmers Bank, now known as Padma Bank Limited.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry asked the officials concerned to take necessary measures to recover Tk 536 crore, which was kept in the bank as FDR.

Chief of the parliamentary watchdog, Saber Hossain Chowdhury, presided over the meeting held at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban on Tuesday.

The Bangladesh Climate Change Trust was due to receive Tk 536 crore in 2016, along with the accumulated interest, but received just Tk 74 crore after around seven years, said sources.

The trust, which operates under the environment ministry, made the fixed deposit in 2015 for one year, so the money was due in 2016, said the trust’s officials.

As per the Climate Change Trust Act-2010, the trust can deposit 34 percent of its funds in various banks to earn interest so that it can fund projects aimed at creating resilience against climate change impacts.

The money was deposited at the bank’s Motijheel, Gulshan and Gulshan Avenue branches and including the 9 percent interest, the total due now stands at around Tk 827 crore, sources said.

The wait to retrieve the investment will get even longer as Farmers Bank, now Padma Bank was given eight more years by the Ministry of Environment to pay back the money.

After the meeting, Saber Hossain said that the bank had made a fresh commitment to pay the money back but couldn’t keep their commitment.

Meanwhile, a special investigation in 2015, Bangladesh Bank found significant violations of banking rules by Farmers Bank management in loan disbursement.

Following that, people rushed to withdraw their deposits, crippling the bank’s ability to conduct its operations.